Lion
Lions, nicknamed "King of Beasts", are big cats that have been an icon for humanity for thousands of years, appearing in cultures across Europe, Asia, and Africa. In the dimension of "JUMANJI", Lions are one of the many animals that inhabit the jungles, as very dangerous predators. Characteristics Male Lions are characterized by having tufts of fur on the end of their tails, while males are famed for their distinctive manes that grow with maturity. Although Lions can be active at any time, their activity spends much of their time resting and inactive for about 20 hours per day. Of all wild cat species, the Lion is the most social cat, living in groups of related individuals with their offspring, called a pride. Hunting is generally performed for the pride by the Lionesses, which will cooperate to execute short but powerful hunts by stalking then followed by strangulation, which can also be killed by the Lion enclosing the animal's mouth and nostrils in its jaws. Prey is typically eaten at the location of the hunt, although large prey is sometimes dragged into cover. Lions tend to squabble over a kill, particularly the males. Lions will generally pursue anything they desire, with Lionesses pursuing prey such as Zebras or Gazelles while males are needed to bring down larger and tougher prey (although they generally avoid healthy adult Elephants, Hippopotamuses and Rhinoceroses). Lions will kill other predators to reduce competition for food, such as Leopards, Cheetahs, and Hyenas, but they seldom devour them. Lioness mothers are extremely protective of their cubs and will protect them with great ferocity, even against armed hunters like Van Pelt. Teeth & Claws Lions are immensely strong cats, with powerful claws in their paws and teeth in their jaws that they use for hunting prey and battling enemies in competition. These claws can dig through household doors, but they will conserve energy if the effort is wasted. Roar Lions of both genders are capable of making roars that can be heard from up to five miles away. "JUMANJI" Lions use roars as very effective acts of intimidation, as it can daze wary players into freezing still and unable to flee. Strength Because of their role as generalist hypercarnivores, Lions are extremely dangerous and will pursue anything they desire to hunt and eat to survive, aided by their great strength, which can be useful in dragging a victim to the ground. Agility Lions can run up to 40 mph and leap over 20 foot rivers and down deep household stairs to cut off retreat. Appearances Book= In the original picture book, the first roll made by Peter lands his piece on the square which reads: "Lion attacks. Move back two spaces". When the children turn their heads, they are astounded to see a real Lion sitting on top of the piano, gazing at Peter, who licks his lips and lets out a roar before he gives him chase upstairs but gets stuck under the bed. The Lion stays stuck under the bed, scratching and clawing but does not bother the children again, eventually disappearing when the game is completed. |-|Films= 1995 Film In the 1995 film, like the picture book, one of Peter Shepherd's dice rolls summoned a male "JUMANJI" Lion into the Parrish Mansion. Like the book, the Lion is triggered on top of a piano in the attic, emerging from the shadows and roaring at the kids, intimidating Judy and Peter to run for their lives until the Lion cornered them. Fortunately, they were saved by Alan Parrish whom they also unintentionally released. Alan attempted to scare the Lion away with his knife, but the Lion had more power in his clawed paws and did not back down, leaping at Alan as he jumped and skidded into the master bedroom. The Lion dug his claws into the door and scratched to try and get out but by the time Alan and the kids returned from their trip of discovery, the Lion gave up trying to get out and curled up on the bed to save his time and energy. After the monsoon, Nora Shepherd came home and opened the master bedroom to see the Lion waking up, where he roared at her and she shut the door on him again. Due to the earthquake, the Lion finally got out of the bedroom and tried to take a vengeful swipe at Alan as he swung on the vines but missed him. Once Alan Parrish finally reached "Jumanji's" crystal ball and called out the name, the Lion and other animals were pulled back into the game's dimension and everything from the altered timeline was undone. *In the 1995 film's novel, the "JUMANJI" board game’s painting has a different layout, adding Lions to the scene. 2017 Film In the 2017 film, Lions are replaced by Jaguars as the main "JUMANJI" big cats. |-|TV= In the animated series, Lions are prominent animals within Jumanji's dimension, although Tigers seem to be more common than they are. In The Master of the Game, the trio come across the wrath of a being referred to as the "Master of Jumanji" who dwells in a temple that has decorative murals of various animals, including Lions, one of which comes to life and attacks them. The "Master of Jumanji" could also summon Lions to attack any infidels that angered him, however, the Lion fell off the balcony after chasing Alan and Judy. In Brantford: The Game, Judy and Peter enter the game directly in the midst of a Lion cub, which they dread since they know the mother should be nearby, proving them right when she emerges to protect her cub. When they leap over a cliff but run into Van Pelt, Alan arrives in the nick of time on a vine, lifting the cub and handing it to Van Pelt, who awaits his inevitable mauling from the Lioness since he was holding onto her cub. Later inside the Brantford game's inner dimension, this incident is directly mirrored when Van Bentley is mauled by a Lioness. There is a Lion statue in The Palace of Clues with ruby eyes, that can reveal mural recordings of every "JUMANJI" game player's clue, should they need to find it again. However, the clues cannot be seen without the Lion's ruby eyes, which were stolen by the greedy explorer Aston Philips and their removal cause the Palace of Lost Clues to start breaking down. In Young Alan, Judy and Peter travel backwards in Jumanji's timeline and encounter the recently arrived ten-year-old Alan Parrish, being chased by a male Lion. This particular Lion is very persistent and often gets out of any delays quickly, but soon loses the trio when they escape into a cave, with the Lion clawing the cracked entrance in vain. Apparently, this Lion did not ever stop chasing Alan and encountered him every day since his arrival in "JUMANJI". Of all Trader Slick's wares, one item he tried to sell his new customers in Young Alan was a somewhat crudely made alarm system, guaranteed to warn the owner of dangers. One such danger he used as an example was a Lion card, depicting a male Lion identical to the one that always pursued Alan. In Who Am I?, due to the occurring abnormal stormy weather, identities between inhabitants and wildlife were continually switched around. Once such incident was Judy (Peter) uncovering a Lion in tall grass, soon discovering Antelope which were actually Lions on the inside. In the final episode; Good Bye, Jumanji, the trio with the clue "When you reflect on actions past, the quest you're on will end at last." Judy, Peter, and Alan are again chased by the persistent male Lion until they run into a cave when they accidentally cause a rock slide trying to stop the Lion. There they find the Crystal of Reflection which contains a record of everything that happened in "JUMANJI". Eventually, Alan watches the scene of his ten year old self rolling the dice, then getting called away to dinner (the reason why he never saw his clue) and when the crystal finally displays his clue: "An act of kindness where there is no light, will help to save you from your plight" they celebrate finally knowing Alan's clue. However, the Lion returns one last time to attack and Alan, revealing that the Lion has a thorn in his paw that's causing great pain; giving Judy realisation that the clue refers to Alan helping the Lion. Alan removes the thorn and the Lion licks him in thanks, finally leaving him alone. After all their adventures and life lessons from "JUMANJI", this same Lion turned out to be the catalyst for helping finally solving Alan's clue and he leaves "JUMANJI"; and solving Alan's clue solves Peter and Judy's as freeing Alan was the quest they were on. |-|Merch= 'Board Game' *'Secret symbol:' Open Door *'Number:' 3 In the Milton Bradley board game, a Lion's portrait is on the side of the game box, a shadow on the game box's rear artwork, while having its own danger card. Rolling an Open Door on the rescue die within 3 seconds will defeat the Lion threat. 'Jigsaw Puzzles' In 1995, Milton Bradley produced three variant Jigsaw Puzzles as promotional tie-ins for the 1995 film. *Jumanji Animals A collection of different "JUMANJI" animals that appeared in the 1995 film. Against a red background, the scene depicts the "Jumanji" board game and the dice in amongst a Rhinoceros, Elephant, Lion, Crocodile, Pelican and Bats emerging from a gap in the Parrish Mansion's Library wall, as a reference to the iconic Stampede scene. |-|Games= In the Mobile Game, the Lion appears as a legendary class animal card. Cultural influence As a symbol of bravery, pride and nobility, the Lion has held a significant iconicity throughout history, including greek mythology and modern dignity and fine architecture: *The large oak carved doors of the Parrish Mansion have bronze door knockers in the shape of Lion heads. *The mythological Griffin is a combination of the Lion "King of Beasts" and the Eagle "King of Birds" together. The Griffin is also the mascot of Cliffside School for Boys. *The Jamazon Tribe wear garments made up of animal skins, including big cats. Inside their temple of marriage, there are murals of a pride of Lionesses hunting a Pegasus horse. Trivia *Conceptual art for the 1995 film’s logo reveals that a fifth token in the shape of a Lion idol was planned for the game, but ended up being unused in favour of a 1-4 player game. References Category:Jumanji animals